PyPI: nltk
GHSA-rf74-v2fm-23pw
Safety vulnerability ID: SFTY-20260318-30374
### Summary `JSONTaggedDecoder.decode_obj()` in `nltk/jsontags.py` calls itself recursively without any depth limit. A deeply nested JSON structure exceeding `sys.getrecursionlimit()` (default: 1000) will raise an unhandled `RecursionError`, crashing the Python process. ### Affected code File: `nltk/jsontags.py`, lines 47–52 ```python @classmethod def decode_obj(cls, obj): if isinstance(obj, dict): obj = {key: cls.decode_obj(val) for (key, val) in obj.items()} elif isinstance(obj, list): obj = list(cls.decode_obj(val) for val in obj) ``` ### Proof of Concept ```python import sys, json from nltk.jsontags import JSONTaggedDecoder depth = sys.getrecursionlimit() + 50 # e.g. 1050 payload = '{"x":' * depth + "null" + "}" * depth # Raises RecursionError, crashing the process json.loads(payload, cls=JSONTaggedDecoder) ``` ### Impact Any code path that passes externally-supplied JSON to `JSONTaggedDecoder` is vulnerable to denial of service. The severity depends on whether such a path exists in the calling code (e.g. `nltk/data.py`). ### Suggested Fix Add a depth parameter with a hard limit: ```python @classmethod def decode_obj(cls, obj, _depth=0): if _depth > 100: raise ValueError("JSON nesting too deep") if isinstance(obj, dict): obj = {key: cls.decode_obj(val, _depth + 1) for (key, val) in obj.items()} elif isinstance(obj, list): obj = list(cls.decode_obj(val, _depth + 1) for val in obj) ```
Overview
Natural Language Toolkit (NLTK) has unbounded recursion in JSONTaggedDecoder.decode_obj() may cause DoS
Advisory
Natural Language Toolkit (NLTK) has unbounded recursion in JSONTaggedDecoder.decode_obj() may cause DoS
How to Fix
We recommend updating nltk to the latest non-vulnerable version.
Mitigation and Workarounds
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Vulnerable Functions
Functions linked to known vulnerabilities.
Verified by Safety
Our Cybersecurity Intelligence Team reviewed this vulnerability. We combine public data with our own research to find issues not yet reported to public sources.
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